Pasta is arguably one of the very first things most people learn how to cook at home. But, for most of us, our first foray into cooking pasta at home would have been a semi-homemade operation. You just boil some pasta in a pot and heat up a jar of pasta sauce in another. It’s not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with semi-homemade cooking, far from it.
I don’t care if you make every meal from scratch. What I do care about is that you all are getting experience time in the kitchen, as It’s truly the only way to improve. But, as your comfort in the kitchen grows, and you have a few of these meals under your belt, eventually you’re going to be ready to take it to the next step and make your own sauce. In today’s lesson, you will be learning how to make one of these classic sauces with the dish penne alla vodka.
To be honest, penne pasta with vodka sauce or penne alla vodka is not an authentic Italian dish. It was invented in the US in the 1970s. Obviously, penne alla vodka is unique in comparison to traditional Italian cooking because of the vodka. But what’s probably less obvious is the fact that the sauce is made by mixing tomatoes with cream. Ask any real Italian and they will tell you that you make sauces with either tomatoes or dairy, never both. But authenticity isn’t everything folks, as vodka sauce is incredibly tasty, and no one can argue its immense popularity. The end result creates a sauce that has a distinctive pink color, and a mild but still rich taste which just about everybody loves. So enough talk, let’s get to it class.
Penne alla Vodka Recipe
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4 to 5
Ingredients
1 LB of penne pasta
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 Shot of vodka
1 Cup of heavy cream (often sold under the name whipping cream)
2 Cloves of garlic crushed and left whole
1 Small onion finely diced
2 Tbsps of butter
3 Tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
⅓ Cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fresh basil shredded into small pieces
Instructions
- Get a large pot of water to a heavy boil, and prep the onions and garlic: get a large pot and fill it ¾ of the way up with water. Add some salt to the pot, and put it over high heat to bring it to a boil. While the water is heating up dice the onion as small as you can, and crush the garlic, removing their skins.
We are crushing the garlic for this recipe because we are looking for a very mild taste in the final product. If you want a more aggressive taste then feel free to mince the garlic instead.
- Add the penne to your pasta pot: After you have prepped the onions and garlic, and the pot of water has come to a full boil, and I do mean a FULL BOIL, add the penne and let it cook for one minute less than the boxes instructions for al dente.
- Sauté the onions: Quickly melt the butter and heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the onions and sauté them for 2 to three minutes on a medium-high heat
- Add the garlic and red pepper: After the onions have sautéed for a couple of minutes add the crushed garlic and red pepper flakes. Let these three ingredients sauté in the butter and oil for another minute or two, stirring often.
- Add the crushed tomatoes: Pour the whole can of crushed tomatoes into the sauté pan and quickly stir everything together. At this time I typically like to add about a half cup of the pasta water to the sauté pan, as the crushed tomatoes can often be too thick. Let the mixture come to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium-low and let it all simmer. Stir often.
- Add the vodka and cream: After the sauce has simmered for a couple of minutes add the vodka and cream, mixing them both in thoroughly. Continue to let the sauce simmer until the penne is done per my instructions in step 2.
You can now see that the sauce has taken on its distinctive pink color.
- Drain the penne and add to the sauce: Once the penne is ready, drain it in a colander, don’t wash it as some of us a prone to do, and add it all to the sauce.
We are now going to mix the penne into the sauce and let it finish cooking in it for about 3 minutes. Cooking the pasta in the sauce ensures that it becomes completely covered, and allows its flavors to permeate the penne, proving a richer flavor.
- Add the basil and parmesan cheese: Turn off the heat, I repeat TURN OFF THE HEAT and add the basil and parmesan cheese. We want the heat off because we want the cheese to melt into the sauce not cook into it. Simply stir in the ingredients for a minute, and the residual heat of the pan will melt the cheese so that it becomes a part of the sauce.
- Serve & enjoy this delicious penne alla vodka
Penne alla Vodka Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 LB of penne pasta
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 Shot of vodka
- 1 Cup of heavy cream often sold under the name whipping cream
- 2 Cloves of garlic crushed and left whole
- 1 Small onion finely diced
- 2 Tbsps of butter
- 3 Tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ Cup of shredded parmesan cheese
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Fresh basil shredded into small pieces
Instructions
- Get a large pot of water to a heavy boil, and prep the onions and garlic: get a large pot and fill it ¾ of the way up with water. Add some salt to the pot, and put it over high heat to bring it to a boil. While the water is heating up dice the onion as small as you can, and crush the garlic, removing their skins. We are crushing the garlic for this recipe because we are looking for a very mild taste in the final product. If you want a more aggressive taste then feel free to mince the garlic instead.
- Add the penne to your pasta pot: After you have prepped the onions and garlic, and the pot of water has come to a full boil, and I do mean a FULL BOIL, add the penne and let it cook for one minute less than the boxes instructions for al dente.
- Sauté the onions: Quickly melt the butter and heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the onions and sauté them for 2 to three minutes on a medium high heat
- Add the garlic and red pepper: After the onions have sautéed for a couple minutes add the crushed garlic and red pepper flakes. Let these three ingredients sauté in the butter and oil for another minute or two, stirring often.
- Add the crushed tomatoes: Pour the whole can of crushed tomatoes into the sauté pan and quickly stir everything together. At this time I typically like to add about a half cup of the pasta water to the sauté pan, as the crushed tomatoes can often be too thick. Let the mixture come to a boil and then turn down the heat to medium low and let it all simmer. Stir often.
- Add the vodka and cream: After the sauce has simmered for a couple minutes add the vodka and cream, mixing them both in thoroughly. Continue to let the sauce simmer until the penne is done per my instructions in step 2. You can now see that the sauce has taken on its distinctive pink color.
- Drain the penne and add to the sauce: Once the penne is ready, drain it in a colander, don’t wash it as some of us a prone to do, and add it all to the sauce. We are now going to mix the penne into the sauce and let it finish cooking in it for about 3 minutes. Cooking the pasta in the sauce ensures that it becomes completely covered, and allows its flavors to permeate the penne, proving a richer flavor.
- Add the basil and parmesan cheese: Turn off the heat, I repeat TURN OFF THE HEAT, and add the basil and parmesan cheese. We want the heat off because we want the cheese to melt into the sauce not cook into it. Simply stir in the ingredients for a minute, and the residual heat of the pan will melt the cheese so that it becomes a part of the sauce.
Inspiration from other blogs
From The Cozy Cook
From A Family Feast
